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: : Is Shylock a Villan or a Victim : : : : Shakespear presents sjylocll as a victim by showing him as a determind, force full and a foolish man. This easy is going to talk about Shylock, a Jew, wether or not he is a victim or a villan. : : Back when this play was written and performed its quite obvios that is was a play of some kind of conflict between the Jews and the Christians, as are many other plays written by shakespear. The aydiences reaction with this play would be very varied, for example, when Banio selects the corrent lead casket the audience would be happy, where as in the court scene there would be tense moments as well as sad moments. : : Shakesspear shows Shylock as a wealthy Jew. He is a money lender, this is someone who lends out money to people and in return he claims interest, this is how he gets his profit. Antonio is in need of some money, he goes to shylock and makes a deal, the deal is that if Antonio cannot pay back Shylock, shylock is liable to a pound of this Christians flesh. Antonio foolishly agrees to this bond and shakes and signs on it. : : While all of this is going on we cut back every now and then to Portia, a rich heiress. Portia is in search for a husband. The way she searches for a husband is that she lets them come to her, Princes from all over come to see her, she presents them all with 3 caskets, Gold, Silver and Lead, the foolish Prince’s pick the gold and the lead, where as the good, noble prince, Banio takes the Lead and wins Portias love. We will hear more about Portia later on. : : Bad news dawns on Antonio, his ships that were carrying his money for shylock have crashed in the sea and sunk, Antonio has lost his money, hes not able to pay back Shylock, Shylock wins his deal and takes Antonio to court. : : The court scene shows all the Christians begging for Shylocks mercy, they understand his determenation by cant think out why he would want Antonios life, not double but three times the amount of money he was owed, he was offerend all this money, just to leave it and walk away. : : The Doctor enters, who is actually Portia in disguise, she can as well not understand why Shylock would want someones life instead of money, she also trys to make him take the money. But still hey decides not to. It carrys on till about when Shylock is about to claim his bond, but just before his is about to cut Antiono’s bare cjest the Doctor corrects Shylock. The bond states that he is liable to a pound of flesh, but not any blood, one drop of blood and the jew could get put away. : : Shylock tries to escape with three times the money but the doctor once again stops him. The entire scene has turned around, now Antonio decides what happens to Shylock. : : He decides that shylock will become a Christian, and that’s all there is to it, he cannot say no or anything. : : Other things happen to Shylock, which I would like to use to back up my statement that he is a victim, because he is a jew, and they are Christians, there is a conflict. Christians do not like Jews, and visa versa. But because there are more Christains they are more powerfull. There is constant lip and ripping from the Christians, and it gets really bad, there are fights as well as extremely violent verbal wars. Christian will call Jews, dogs, spit at them, abuse them, not live near them. A big part of this example is when it all gets to the top of Shylock’s mind and he just explodes with a big speech : : : : “To bait fish withal ; if it will feed nothing else, it will feed my revenge. He hath disgraced me, hindered me half a million, laighed at my losses, mocked at my gains, scorned my nation, thwated my bargains, cooled my friends, heated mine enemies – and what is his reason? I am a Jew. Hath not a Jew eyes? Hath not a Jew Hands?, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, pions? Fed by the same food, hurt with the same weapons, subject to the same diseases, healed by the same means, warmed and cooled by the same summer and winter as a Christian is? If you prick us do we not bleed? If you tickle us, do we not laugh? If you poisen us do we not die? And if you wrong us, shall we not revenge? If we are like you in the rest, we will resemble you in that. If a Jew wrong a Christian, what is his humility? Revenge. If a Christian wrong a Jew, what should his sufferance be by Christian example? Why, revenge! The Villainy you teach me I will execute, and it shall go hard, but I will better the Instruction.” : : Shylock is basically saying “I’m the same as you, so I shall do the same as you!” He believes that there is not difference between him and the Christians, or even all Jews and Christians, so he will get his revenge and it will go down hard, it will be painfull, but hes only doing what they would of done to him. This is slighty backing up the fact that he is a villain, but I still believe strongley that all of the Christains hating the Jews is causing him to be a victim of Abuse. : : -- youve got to finesh it off and spell check it

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